Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1887-08-13
A MORAyIAN CENTENNIAL.
SR0UGa ara lSsPisAD BY rBs ami
vHxsAkr CxLESsArIO ar LirsSZ.
why To-day and To MORROW win he Giad.
some IN the History OF wsrwichs Gap.
itAi-rhs Eariy li~ginniuss OF . Row
Fiouriahing Congregation.

Apropos oi the centennial anniversary |
'elebration Of the building Of the present /
church at Ltitz to-day and to NOR |
Ow, the following sketch from the pen OF |
Louise A. Weitzsl In the Liutz Record will
,e read with special interest
1t may not be amiss In this centennial |
year 10 glance back over the past one hun |
tred years and see what the Lord has done
or us aud we tor him. We want to say
ew words concerning this church IN its early |
lays and how II came to he built In lIi2
Count Zinzsndorf, while visiting other set |
dement's delivered am address AT the house
II Jacob Huber, in Warwick township In
liA Q Lutheran church was built on the lana
of SeorEe Klein, Huber's nearest neighbor.
The Lutheran clergyman being fsvorably
disposed toward the Brethreu, this church
WAS opened to all the i,iuerant MorAvian
ministers who visited that region. But the
Moravians wanted q church ot their own,
and In l146, in meeting at Klen's house,
II was determined to build q gemein haus to
serve for dwelling for the minister, church
and school house.
On the ON Of February. I74S. this house
was dedicated. and on the I'D o, July follow.
ing the Rev. lombard Schneli moved into
II as minister and school teacher. This house
WAS known ~ the f" Warwick Church and
School House" In 1853 George Klein
donated his entire farm OF COO acres to the
Unity of the Brethren to enable them to es.
tablish = community like that OF Beth chem.
In E5' the village was laid out and the
name of Liti'z, given to 1t in memory OF the
village in Bohemia, from which the Brethren
had emigrated. The brother and sister
houses were built in l75S and 1859 In l76l
the present parsonage was built and the
greater Part OF the upper story was dedicated
for q place ot worship.
On the l3:h of August, l7S7, the present
church was c>nsecrated. 1u 1887, on the 5Oth
anniversary Of the conservation, pulpit was
hrst placed in the church, the minister hav-
ing previously otliciated ut . table covered
with black cloth. such is q hare outline ot
tho rise and growth of the Moravian COM
munity OF Liti,z
Now, We would ask, what are the lessons
to be deduced from this? Has this Morsvian
church 1t LititZ made itself felt In the im.
mediate nsiehborhood, as well As the world
At large? think 1t has, mainly through the
avenue OF Its schools, and Is year after year
Linden Hall sends out its quota of youthful
graduates equipped tor the battle of life, We
are confident that something Of the purity of
the Moravisn doctrine, which is also Christ
Ian doctrine In general, Is disseminated
throughout the world at large. Though un-
denominational aud unsectarian the Mo-
rsvian schools have always been the church's
greatest power for good, and this our Lititz
church too has richly experienced.
Again the church has worked by means OF
It's sunday school, although ii 10 only about
80 years since We have Q Sunday school
Numbering ct its highest tide Of pros perity
400 children and 26 teachers, it II evident
that II must have absorbed . very large per-
centage of the children in the neigh bort hood.
This too after Lititz bad ceased to be dis
tincuvely Moravian community. 1t is very
plain to be seen that the church has i'm
proved outwardly along with the worlds on.
ward march In science and the srtA Instead
OF the old benches with backs tn them We
now have cushioned pewa The dieners and
dienerinen arc no longer obliged TO go about
suuthug tho tailOw candles, which were in
erpr hv,N oil lusv
and again by ths coal oil lamps We now have
in use. The old organ has long been re
placed by new one. Our graveyard hai
been enlarged and We now have q oeautitu
and commodious Sunday school chapel.
But external improvements are largely the
creatures Of circumstance. Time, decay, the
manners and needs Of the sgs, demand snC
dictate them. Here there certainly In nc
room for congratnstion. Wemust look
below the surface. We see from the records
OF these early times that We have fallen OIL Ia
two things-siIu plicity of attire and the strict.
ness OF pious observanceA In those day q
the Morsvians, like the Mennonites and
tluakers, were noted for uniform plainness
In their dresa The women all wore caps,
being distinguished in age and condition by
the color OF tue bow OF ribbon by which they
were adorned. Religion among these early
MOravisns was woven into the fabric OF their
daily existence In an intimacy as strange ss 4,
would appear distastsfui 70 che present gen,
GRAFTON. Services we're held in the church
every evening throughout the whole year, to
which the greater part of the congregs alton
repaired, regardless of the summers heat OF
winters cold. These services consisted OF
prayer meetings, missionary meetings, ser
vices OF song, or meetings in which the
Gemeinnschricten or items of news from the
different Congregations were read for the pur.
pose OF cementing closer union and prompt.
Ing hearty church patriotism. The holy
Aacrament was admins cred once every four
weeks and the choir festivals were always
ushered In BY the most solemn and careful
preparation. Throughout the week previous
10 the festival those intending 10 participate
In 1t repaired to the pastors house for the
"spr0chen," ~ II was called, when he wa
expected 70 examine into their spiritual cou
dition and administer religious advice, ad
monition or reprOof, ~ 1t was needed. The
single brsthren and sisters usually repaired
to the ptieger and pnsRerinen tor this pur
pose. The latter was sometimes known to end
the interview with kiss and . small cake
which rendered the "sprechen" very de-
desirable thing to the younger children
According to the church diary, under date O
July ~, 1913, "Wo recommended our noon
day liturgy which had been Omitted during
the harvest" Would not some OF our younl
people nowadays b. disposed to regard
MONDAY liturgy 10 July ~ somewhat of Z
bore?
In little things like this we notice the
difference between the present and the past
aud while it II all we'll enough 70 talk about
the imprscticsbility OF these matters in ouE
day and to reiterste the assertion that the de
cline OF the week day meetings does moi
necessarily indicate . decay OF vital Chris
tianity, We cannot help looking back to those
primitive days with feeling OF moAt genuine
and hearty regret a. we'll ~ Q vague senss
OF lOsa Have We ON the other hand gained
anything to make up for this loss?
New occasions teach new duties,
Time makes ancient good uncOuth.
lie must ever on and upward
Who would keep abreast with truth.
The decay OF the brother and sister houses
and the abandonment OF many old customs
WAS the necessary result of outside pressure
and the progressive spirit OF the age, and
while many regret these things they fall To
zee thai tho Lord has other work for the
Morsvisn church in these dsya This 10 an
age OF reform, aud our Morsvisn church, like
true church militant should lead the van
here ~ elsewhere.
Many avenues of good In the past arc
closed, and instead OF clinging t. past prej0.
dices and resting upon past lsurels, We must
step forward boldly and utilize the oppOrtu.
mites OF the present. We must prove all
things and retain that which 10 best The
Morsvian congregation at Lititz bears, /
think, ~ fair Q record - any in this Ameri.
can province. We have increased in NUN beSs;
We have had Seasons OF spiritual refreshing
and We have by Gods grsne bssn able to do
somewhat In the way OF furnishing both men
and money for the conflict with evil Ut home
aud abrosd.
Albeit our church, like many another,
havn tam hat